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Relatives said Randy Olverson Jr. always set the bar high for his four siblings and encouraged them.

Family mourns its 'backbone' -

Randy Olverson Jr. was considered the man of his family from a young age.

Raised by a single mother, he was the oldest son among five children.

Opportunities were opening up for Olverson. He worked at the National City Bank customer-service center and was in line for a promotion. He shared a house on Fleming Road with two brothers. It wasn't far from his mother's house on the East Side.

Olverson was working a split shift on May 20, coming home for a break between 3 and 5 p.m., when something went horribly wrong. A home invasion and shooting left Olverson, 28, dead by his front step. His brother, Ryan Olverson, 22, was shot in the back and injured.

Another brother, Rick Olverson, 26, had just left the house shortly before the shootings. Family members say they wonder whether the home was targeted because Rick, who drives a nice 2002 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, had pulled out of the driveway a few minutes before.

Columbus police have arrested one of three men who ran from the house. Yesterday, they charged Andre Ealy Jr., 18, of 1823 Woodcrest Ave., with murder.

"They took someone's father, brother and son," Monica Hunter, a family friend, said of the loss of Randy.

"He was the backbone of our family. He was everything to me," Ryan Olverson said. Ryan is now home after spending a few days in Grant Medical Center.

Family and friends will bury Randy today at Glen Rest Memorial Estates in Reynoldsburg. The service will be at 11 a.m. at the First Church of God on Refugee Road, which has a sanctuary large enough to accommodate the expected crowd.

Tameeka Olverson, Randy's older sister, said, "Randy always looked out for his family and friends."

Growing up wasn't easy. Their mother, Kandi Harmon, raised the five children mostly on her own because she divorced her husband who was in and out of prison. She has since remarried.

"She had to work two or three jobs, just to make ends meet. All we had was each other," Tameeka said. She recalled one particularly lean time when they had to boil water to make it hot enough for baths.

Harmon said Randy set the bar high for his siblings, checking their report cards and encouraging them.

When he was at Eastmoor High School, Randy played varsity basketball and was a member of the chess club. He went on to graduate from Wright State University with a degree in criminal justice.

During college, Randy had a son, Tre, so named because he is Randy Olverson III. Tre is now 8.

Randy and brother Rick coached Tre and other children on the youth-basketball team at the Barnett Recreation Center.